The Restart Project is very similar to the repair café movement – but focusses on electronics:
We run regular Restart Parties where people teach each other how to repair their broken and slow devices – from tablets to toasters, from iPhones to headphones. We work with schools and organisations to help them value and use their electronics for longer. And we use the data and stories we collect to help demand better, more sustainable electronics for all.
The Restart Project was born in 2013 out of our frustration with the throwaway, consumerist model of electronics that we’ve been sold, and the growing mountain of e-waste that it’s leaving behind. By bringing people together to share skills and gain the confidence to open up their stuff, we give people a hands-on way of making a difference, as well as a way to talk about the wider issue of what kind of products we want.
And we campaign for the Right to Repair.
We’re based in London, UK, but our message, and our parties, are spreading across the world. Our motto is: don’t despair, just repair!
And they’ve just won an award:
We won the European Union Prize for Citizen Science—Digital Communities Award!
Over the years we’ve built an online platform for everyone to store this data and analyse the impact of repairs. We’ve worked with allies to create an open standard for recording repairs and made data tools available to communities around the world. And our insights have helped shape new Right to Repair laws in Europe.
Our community has played a vital role at every stage, from recording repair data, to completing online microtasks to showing up at protests. So, we’re absolutely delighted to have been awarded the European Union Prize for Citizen Science—Digital Communities Award!
Here’s what they had to say:
“The Restart Project has been supporting the repair and reuse of technology for more than 10 years through forums, online coordination, and in-person events, with dedicated programs for digital inclusion and addressing under-represented groups. This growing and global community has gone on to not only revitalize old technology but also to provide data, and carry out research that give insights into the impact that reuse and repair has on the environment. This, in turn, plays an important role in changing policy regarding technology regulation. The jury commends the dedication to inclusion and community-making by the project, combined with the outreach to stakeholders in the policy sphere to create impact both in individuals’ lives and in international legislation.” European Union Prize for Citizen Science Jury 2023
We won the European Union Prize for Citizen Science—Digital Communities Award! – The Restart Project